[Feilong4]

I don't have any Stax headphones or energizers yet, but I plan to someday.
 
So if I have a ifi iDSD Nano as my DAC from my PC, is there a way to have the audio signal go through to a Stax energizer? 
 
I know nothing outside of RCA, 1/4", and the more common connections, so please do fill me in on how it works.

 

[Music Alchemist]

Simply connect RCA cables from the RCA outputs of your iFi nano iDSD to the RCA inputs of the electrostatic amp.
 
Here are some cheap but good RCA cables: https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=5346

 

[Feilong4]

  Simply connect RCA cables from the RCA outputs of your iFi nano iDSD to the RCA inputs of the electrostatic amp.
 
Here are some cheap but good RCA cables: https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=5346

 
I don't see any Stax amps with RCA inputs which is why I'm confused.
 
I'm seeing these:
 

 

 

 

[JustinBieber]

You would need a speaker amplifier to use an energizer. 
 
http://www.headfonia.com/stax-srd-7/ explains it really well

 

[Music Alchemist]

  I don't see any Stax amps with RCA inputs which is why I'm confused.
 
I'm seeing these:

 
Those are not electrostatic amplifiers; they are electrostatic adapters aka energizers, transformers, converters, etc. They are passive and are powered by a speaker amp. If you were to use an electrostatic adapter, your connections would look like this: DAC > RCA (or other cable) > speaker amp > speaker wire from adapter > adapter > headphones.
 
I would recommend using a proper electrostatic amp instead. All of the STAX amps (not to be confused with the adapters) have RCA inputs, and some also have XLR.
 
https://www.staxusa.com/driver

 

[Feilong4]

  You would need a speaker amplifier to use an energizer. 
 
http://www.headfonia.com/stax-srd-7/ explains it really well

Do you know if a receiver or a vintage receiver like the Sansui 881 will work with the energizer?
 

   
That is not an electrostatic amplifier; it is an electrostatic adapter aka energizer, transformer, converter, etc. You connect a speaker amp to those, but I would recommend using a proper electrostatic amp instead. All of the STAX amps (not the adapters) have RCA inputs, and some also have XLR.
 
https://www.staxusa.com/driver

 
Do you recommend a proper electrostatic amp for proper electrostatic headphones, or would an electrostatic amp work with an electret as well? I was thinking of treading the waters with cheaper Stax electrets just to see see what's up with them. I'm looking at a Stax SR-40 system and it has an SRD-4 energizer with no RCA inputs.
 
Do you think it might be worth looking into a Stax SR-40 system now or saving for a full on Stax SRS-L300 system in the (very distant) future?

 

[Music Alchemist]

  Do you know if a receiver or a vintage receiver like the Sansui 881 will work with the energizer?
 
Do you recommend a proper electrostatic amp for proper electrostatic headphones, or would an electrostatic amp work with an electret as well? I was thinking of treading the waters with cheaper Stax electrets just to see see what's up with them. I'm looking at a Stax SR-40 system and it has an SRD-4 energizer with no RCA inputs.
 
Do you think it might be worth looking into a Stax SR-40 system now or saving for a full on Stax SRS-L300 system in the (very far) future?

 
Any speaker amp should work, given they can be connected, but some may sound different.
 
If you get a STAX adapter instead of an amp, make sure it is PRO bias and not Normal bias if you are going to use non-vintage headphones with it.
 
I owned the following STAX equipment:
SR-207 electrostatic headphones
SR-30 electret headphones
SRM-212 electrostatic amp
SRD-4 electret converter
 
I got the electret system first and used a Lepai LP-2020A+ speaker amp with it. The SR-207 sounds significantly better than the SR-30. I'm not sure if all electrets are like this, but the SR-30 distorted very badly whenever there was high volume and/or heavy bass in the music, so I had to lower the bass and/or volume to get rid of the distortion. The SR-30 also works fine from electrostatic amps. I did not hear a difference between driving it from the electret adapter plus speaker amp and the electrostatic amp.
 
I would recommend going for a used electrostatic system. You don't need to pay a lot for it. I only paid $180 for the SR-207 and $150 for the SRM-212. (Though I got lucky.) If you can't find one that you can readily afford, electrets are a good introduction to the magical transparency of electrostats, but trust me, you're going to want to upgrade to the real thing sooner or later.
 
Also, about the names...that system you mentioned is actually called SRS-3100, which consists of the SR-L300 headphones and SRM-252S amp.

 

[Feilong4]

   
Any speaker amp should work, given they can be connected, but some may sound different.
 
If you get a STAX adapter instead of an amp, make sure it is PRO bias and not Normal bias if you are going to use non-vintage headphones with it.
 
I owned the following STAX equipment:
SR-207 electrostatic headphones
SR-30 electret headphones
SRM-212 electrostatic amp
SRD-4 electret converter
 
I got the electret system first and used a Lepai LP-2020A+ speaker amp with it. The SR-207 sounds significantly better than the SR-30. I'm not sure if all electrets are like this, but the SR-30 distorted very badly whenever there was high volume and/or heavy bass in the music, so I had to lower the bass and/or volume to get rid of the distortion. The SR-30 also works fine from electrostatic amps. I did not hear a difference between driving it from the electret adapter plus speaker amp and the electrostatic amp.
 
I would recommend going for a used electrostatic system. You don't need to pay a lot for it. I only paid $180 for the SR-207 and $150 for the SRM-212. (Though I got lucky.) If you can't find one that you can readily afford, electrets are a good introduction to the magical transparency of electrostats, but trust me, you're going to want to upgrade to the real thing sooner or later.
 
Also, about the names...that system you mentioned is actually called SRS-3100, which consists of the SR-L300 headphones and SRM-252S amp.

 
Wow, that's a great price for the SR-207 and SRM-212! 
 
Thanks for the information and clarifications! It's good to know now than later haha.
 
Also, does temperature play a role in longevity of electrostatic headphones or is it only just the humidity and dust? I live in an area where it gets really hot in the summer and really cold in the winter.

 

[Music Alchemist]

  Also, does temperature play a role in longevity of electrostatic headphones or is it only just the humidity and dust? I live in an area where it gets really hot in the summer and really cold in the winter.

 
I'd keep other types of headphones around just in case, but I don't think cold or hot rooms would interfere. The vintage STAX models have been around for decades, and they don't seem to be damaged by things like that.

 

[JustinBieber]

   
Wow, that's a great price for the SR-207 and SRM-212! 
 
Thanks for the information and clarifications! It's good to know now than later haha.
 
Also, does temperature play a role in longevity of electrostatic headphones or is it only just the humidity and dust? I live in an area where it gets really hot in the summer and really cold in the winter.

Yeah that was a great price. Damn review by ZeosPantera completely screwed up the pricing of the 207 and 252/212 to the point of it no longer being a good value. 

 

[Music Alchemist]

  Yeah that was a great price. Damn review by ZeosPantera completely screwed up the pricing of the 207 and 252/212 to the point of it no longer being a good value. 

 
The fact that the SR-207 was discontinued (and replaced by the SR-L300) is the main reason the SRS-2170 (SR-207 + SRM-252S) now costs $900 or more on Amazon and eBay. But the US price of the SRM-252S actually has gone down. It was originally $450 and is now $360. And the new SRS-3100 system (SR-L300 + SRM-252S) is $790, which is the same US retail price the SRS-2170 was sold for.
 
If you keep an eye on the better parts of the used market (like the Head-Fi classifieds and the Japanese Yahoo! Auctions, which typically requires a middleman service) or, better yet, talk to lots of audiophiles and arrange private deals (which is how I got mine), you can still find great prices.

 

[JustinBieber]

Ah, that's right. I forgot all about the replacement with the L series! 

 

[arjuna93]

You would need a speaker amplifier to use an energizer.

http://www.headfonia.com/stax-srd-7/ explains it really well

Will it work if speaker cables are terminated with RCA plus and energizer is connected to headphone amp instead?

Or otherwise maybe some converter can be used?

I’m getting an electret (just out of curiosity, found a NOS one), but it would be silly to buy a speaker amp just for that sake.

 

[miketlse]

Marginally OT - I like the Koss as my first electrostatic headphones, but if I wanted to move up a level and try a Stax system, what would be your suggestions?

 

[arjuna93]

Marginally OT - I like the Koss as my first electrostatic headphones, but if I wanted to move up a level and try a Stax system, what would be your suggestions?

It is perhaps the wrong thread to ask, but I would suggest getting second-hand Stax from Yahoo Japan via Buyee or whatever. I got mine this way and happy with the set-up and price paid.
I cannot compare with newer models since I never tried them, but from what I understand getting old Lambda Signatures is a safe choice and not hard to find. They go for about 150–300 USD.